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OF 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL 
HISTORY 


ZOOLOGICAL  SERIES 


.--* 


Volume  X 


Chicago,  U.  S.  A. 
1909  - 1923 


7/ 
,3 


FOUR  NEW  MAMMALS  FROM  VENEZUELA. 


BY  WILFRED  H.  OSGOOD. 


Among  South  American  mammals  obtained  in  recent  years  by  the 
Field  Museum  of  Natural  History  are  four  from  western  Venezuela 
that  appear  to  be  undescribed.     They  are  as  follows: 

Peramys  palliolatus  sp.  nov. 

Type  from  San  Juan  de  Colon,  State  of  Tachira,  Venezuela.  Al- 
titude 2,500  ft.  No.  20524  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History.  Adult 
male.     Collected  Nov.  14,  1913,  by  M.  P.  Anderson.     Orig.  No.  159. 

Characters. — Similar  in  general  characters  to  Peramys  brevicaudatus 
but  color  of  under  parts  entirely  rich  tawny;  hairiness  at  base  of  tail 
reduced  to  about  a  half -inch,  that  of  the  upper  side  only  slightly  exceed- 
ing the  lower;  skull  larger  and  teeth  relatively  small. 

Color. — Median  upper  parts  from  end  of  nose  to  rump  with  hairs 
dull  slaty  at  the  base  and  tipped  with  yellowish  gray,  the  whole  forming 
a  broad  grayish  dorsal  band;  sides  of  face  including  a  narrow  line  over 
the  eye,  sides  of  body,  arms  and  legs,  and  entire  under  parts  deep  rich 
ferruginous;  hands  and  feet  dusky  mixed  with  ferruginous;  scaly  part 
of  tail  blackish  above  and  below. 

Skull.- — Similar  to  that  of  P.  hrevicatidatus  but  larger;  nasals  long 
and  broadly  expanded  posteriorly;  naso-frontal  suture  emarginate; 
rather  marked  postorbital  swellings;  molariform  teeth  slightly  smaller 
than  in  brevicaudatus. 

Measurements. — Type:  Total  length  197;  head  and  body  116;  tail 
79;  hind  foot  21.5.  Skull  of  type:  Greatest  length  36;  basal  length  36; 
zygomatic  breadth  19.8;  greatest  interorbital  breadth  7.5;  least  inter- 
orbital  breadth  6.3;  length  of  nasals  17;  greatest  width  of  nasals  5.8; 
palate  length  from  gnathion  20;  front  of  canine  to  back  of  M*  14.4; 
combined  length  of  Ms^'^  6.5. 

Remarks. — This  species  is  not  only  darker  in  color  than  brevicaudatus 
but  the  hairiness  of  the  upper  side  of  its  tail  is  much  less  extensive. 
It  is  evidently  larger  and  darker  than  P.  b.  orinoci  and  P.  b.  dorsalis 

13s 


136    Field  Museum  of  Natural  History  —  Zoology,  Vol.  X. 

and  has  the  under  parts  more  richly  colored.  For  purposes  of  compar- 
ison, a  specimen  collected  by  R.  H.  Becker  at  Itacoatiara,  near  Manaos, 
Brazil,  has  been  regarded  as  representing  true  hrevicandatus . 

Odocoileus  lasiotis  sp.  nov. 

Type  from  Paramo  de  los  Conejos,  Sierra  de  Merida,  Venezuela. 
Altitude  9,000  ft.  No.  20198  Field  Museum  of  Natiu"al  History. 
Adult  male.  Collected  Aug.  19,  1912.  Received  from  S.  Bricefio 
Gabaldon  and  Sons. 

Characters. — ^A  medium-sized  deer  with  full  long  pelage  (hairs  on 
back  and  sides  30-50  mm.),  densely  hairy  and  relatively  short  ears, 
broad  heavy  tail,  and  dark  gra^ash  coloration  ^^dth  rather  extensive 
blackish  brown  markings;  no  metatarsal  gland. 

Color. — General  color  of  upper  parts  huffish  gray,  the  hairs  broccoli 
brown  or  drab  with  a  broad  subterminal  annulation  of  buffy  and  a  dusky 
tip  producing  a  somewhat  coarsely  peppery  appearance;  sides  of  body 
notably  paler  than  back ;  a  continuous  dark  bro\A-n  line  from  the  nose  over 
the  head,  neck,  and  shoulders  to  the  middle  of  the  back,  widening  to 
cover  practically  the  entire  forehead  and  interorbital  region,  broadening 
again  over  the  shoulders  and  thence  gradually  merging  with  lighter  toward 
the  tail;  sides  of  head  and  face  gra5'ish  finely  punctulated;  sides  of  nose 
dark  brown  continuous  with  median  dark  frontal  area  and  separated 
from  rhinariimi  and  upper  Hps  by  a  sharply  defined  line  of  buffy  white; 
a  broad  blackish  eyering;  chin  cream}^  white  wdth  a  conspicuous  blackish 
brown  submaxillary  spot  on  each  side  separated  from  the  narrowly 
white  throat  by  a  buffy  gray  continuation  from  the  sides  of  the  face; 
lower  neck  and  brisket  brownish  drab  only  slightly  punctulated  or 
lined  with  whitish;  axillary  region  buffy  white  continuous  with  a  well 
defined  stripe  down  the  hind  side  of  the  foreleg  to  the  "knee"  and 
bordered  by  pale  cinnamon;  foreleg  mixed  drab  and  cinnamon  fawn 
becoming  brighter  nearly  clear  clay  color  touched  ^vith  tawny  below  the 
"knee";  a  well-marked  dark  brown  line  from  midway  of  the  humerus 
down  the  front  of  the  leg  to  the  pastern  where  it  is  interrupted  by  a 
fulvous  area  followed  by  a  broad  brown  spot  at  the  base  of  the  hoofs; 
belly  white,  continuous  with  a  sharp  stripe  do\^^^  the  inner  side  of  each 
hind  leg  to  a  point  opposite  the  hock;  remainder  of  hind  legs  colored 
practically  like  forelegs  but  brownish  stripe  less  pronounced;  ears 
densely  hairy  on  the  outside,  dark  drabbish  bistre  distally  somewhat 
more  grayish  proximally;  lower  base  of  ear  and  one  third  of  lower  side 
white;  inside  of  ear  thickly  clothed  with  long  creamy  white  hairs;  tail 


April,  1914.    Four  New  Mammals  from  Venezuela — Osgood.     137 

broad  and  heavily  haired,  the  hairs  at  the  tip  extending  75-85  mm. 
beyond  the  vertebrae  and  those  on  the  sides  70-80  mm. ;  median  upper 
side  of  tail  Prout's  brown,  the  hairs  self-colored  on  the  distal  half  of  the 
tail,  broadly  tipped  with  pale  cinnamon  on  the  proximal  half  and  con- 
tinuous with  the  color  of  the  back;  under  side  of  tail  white,  the  hairs 
longer  than  the  median  dark  ones  of  the  upper  side. 

5^m//.— Practically  as  in  0.  savannarum  (  =  0.  spinosus);  smaller 
and  having  decidedly  weaker  dentition  than  0.  gymnotis  as  represented 
by  specimens  from  the  Maracaibo  region,  Venezuela. 

Antlers. — The  antlers  of  the  type  are  in  the  velvet  and  were  received 
attached  to  the  skin,  the  pedicels  having  been  hacked  through  with  a 
machete  in  removing  the  skin.  They  are  rather  small  (length  on 
outer  curve  320  mm.)  and  only  the  right  antler  is  normal,  the  left 
having  the  beam  depauperate  and  shorter  than  the  back  tine.  The 
right  antler  has  four  points,  a  strong  well-developed  subbasal  snag 
(70  mm.),  a  long  slender  bez  or  back  tine  directed  upward  and  back- 
ward (105  mm.),  and  a  short  trez  (25  mm.)  two  thirds  of  the  way  from 
the  base  of  the  bez  to  the  point  of  the  forwardly  directed  beam.  The 
burr  is  heavy  and  the  subbasal  snag  together  with  the  beam  below  the 
bez  is  highly  rugose. 

Measurements. — Type  (dressed  skin,  measured  dry) :  Head  and  body 
1460;  tail  vertebrae  130;  hind  foot  340;  ear  from  crown  125;  ear  from 
notch  iio.  Sloill  of  type:  Greatest  length  244;  basilar  length  220; 
tip  of  premaxillae  to  end  of  palate  157;  zygomatic  width  100;  mastoid 
width  82;  interorbital  width  63;  median  length  of  nasals  72;  greatest 
width  of  nasals  27.6;  width  between  outer  sides  of  second  upper  molars 
69;  length  of  upper  toothrow  71;  lower  too  throw  72.2. 

Remarks. — So  far  as  known,  all  the  deer  of  the  genus  Odocoileus 
previously  described  from  northern  South  America  inhabit  the  low- 
lands in  the  arid  or  semi -arid  savannas,  regions  of  light  intermittent 
forest  or  open  grasslands.  They  are  short-haired  and  largely  ochraceous 
or  "reddish"  in  color  and  their  hoofs  are  narrow  and  pointed.  The 
species  above  described  evidently  inhabits  the  paramos  and  the  scat- 
tered tongues  of  forest  surrounding  them  at  considerable  elevation 
above  the  hot  regions.  Its  full  long  pelage  leaves  no  room  for  doubt 
that  its  habitat  is  relatively  cool  and  moist.  Even  if  they  were  abun- 
dant, deer  would  be  difficult  to  obtain  in  these  mountain  regions;  but  it 
is  probable  this  species  is  rare,  since  no  specimen  of  it  has  been  ob- 
tained previously,  although  the  Merida  region  is  one  from  which  much 
natural  history  material  has  been  sent  for  a  number  of  years. 

Several  names  have  been  given  to  deer  of  the  genus  Odocoileus  from 


13S    Field  Museum  of  Natural  History  —  Zoology,  Vol.  X. 

northern  South  America,  but  so  far  as  they  can  be  assigned  to  definite 
locaHties  all  of  them  apply  to  the  one  or  more  lowland  species  generally 
recognized  under  the  names  gyninotis  and  savannarum.  Among  these 
names  is  one  based  on  ver>'  defective  material  supposed  to  have  been 
received  from  Bogota,  Colombia,  which  is  in  a  highland  region,  but 
the  material  itself  offers  no  eWdence  to  the  contrary'  and  all  the  prob- 
abilities favor  the  \new  that  the  animal  was  actually  killed  in  the  low- 
lands, its  horns  merely  having  passed  through  the  highlands  in  transit 
to  the  coast  whence  they  were  taken  to  a  European  museum. 

The  status  of  the  various  names  may  be  discussed  briefly  as  follows:* 

1833.     Cerctts  gymtwtis  Wiegmann,  Isis,  p.  963,  1833. 

This  species  is  usually  credited  to  Colombia,  but  its  tv-pe  locality  is 
the  Orinoco  region,  doubtless  the  savannas  on  the  lower  part  of  the 
river,  for  although  it  is  stated  in  the  original  description  that  it  came 
from  Colombia  this  is  qualified  by  the  information  that  its  former  pos- 
sessor had  received  it  ^^a  St.  Thomas  (W.  I.)  from  the  Orinoco  region. 
For  purposes  of  comparison,  specimens  from  the  savannas  east  of  Lake 
Maracaibo,  Venezuela,  have  been  used  to  represent  this  species  but  it 
is  by  no  means  certain  that  they  are  identical  with  the  Orinoco  animal 
of  which  no  complete  specimens  are  available. 

1846.  Cervus  spinosus  Gay  and  Ger\-ais,  Ann.  Sci.  Nat.,  Ser.  3., 
Zool.,  V,  pp.  93-94,  1846. 

This  name  has  priority  over  savannarum  and,  so  far  as  can  be 
judged  from  the  description,  was  fotmded  upon  the  same  species.  It 
has  page  priority  over  Cervus  goudotii  and  is  antedated  only  by  C. 
gytnnotis.  Therefore  it  should  be  the  recognized  name  of  the  Guiana 
deer  unless  that  species  proves  not  to  differ  from  the  animal  of  the 
lower  Orinoco  region  in  which  case  it  would  become  a  sjTionxTn  of 
gyninotis.  The  essential  part  of  the  original  description  is  as  follows: 
"Ainsi  G.  Cuvier  fait  connaitre,  comme  se  rapportant  au  Cervus 
virginianus,  des  bois  envoyes  de  Cayenne  par  M.  Poiteau;  mais  il  est 
e\'ident  qu'ils  sont  d'une  autre  espece.  Ces  bois  sont  petits,  epineux 
k  un  seul  andouiller,  etc.  Nous  signalerons  cette  espece  a  I'attention 
des  zoologistes  sur  le  nom  de  Cervu^  spinosus  J" 

1846.  Cervus  goudotii  Gay  and  Ger\ais,  Ann.  Sci.  Nat.,  Ser.  3, 
V,  p.  94,  1846. 

The  basis  of  this  name  was  a  small  single-branched  horn,  prob- 
ably still  preser%"ed  in  the  Paris  Musetun.  It  was  said  to  have  been 
received  from   "les  regions  elevees  de  la   Nouvelle-Grenade."      At 

'  For  friendly  aid  in  consulting  books  not  contained  in  Chicago  libraries,  I  am 
indebted  to  Mr.  N.  Hollister  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 


April,  1914.    Four  New  Mammals  from  Venezuela — Osgood.     139 

the  most,  this  indefinite  statement  of  locality  could  only  mean  that 
the  specimen  was  secured  from  a  native  or  bought  in  a  shop  in  the 
interior  of  Colombia,  probably  in  Bogota.  Deer  are  exceedingly  rare 
and  difficult  to  obtain  in  the  mountains  near  Bogota  and  it  is  even 
doubtful  whether  any  except  small  brockets  (Mazama)  occur  there; 
whereas  they  are  fairh'  common  in  the  savannas  directly  east  of  Bogota 
along  the  upper  Meta  River  on  Orinoco  drainage.  A  trade  route  be- 
tween this  region  and  Bogota  has  been  open  for  many  years  and  the 
skins  or  parts  of  the  lowland  animals  as  well  as  living  animals  for  pets 
are  constantly  carried  to  Bogota  for  sale.^  It  is  highly  probable, 
therefore,  that  the  type  of  Cervus  goudotii  came  from  the  upper  Orinoco 
region  east  of  Bogota,  Colombia.  So  far  as  known,  the  deer  of  this 
region  do  not  differ  from  those  of  the  lower  Orinoco.  The  name  gou- 
dotii may  therefore  be  regarded  as  a  synonym  of  gymnotis. 

1848.  Cervus  savannarum  Cabanis  and  Schomburgk,  Reisen  in 
Brit.  Guiana,  III,  p.  785,  1848. 

Although  this  name  is  usually  regarded  as  representing  a  valid  form 
differing  from  gymnotis  at  least  in  certain  external  characters,  it  is 
doubtful  if  specimens  typically  representing  the  two  ever  have  been 
compared.  Two  imperfect  skulls  in  the  Field  Museum  obtained  by 
M.  P.  Anderson  and  R.  H.  Becker  at  Boa  Vista,  Rio  Branco,  Brazil, 
may  be  considered  practically  as  topotypes  of  savannarum,  for  Fort 
San  Joaquim  (very  near  Boa  Vista)  was  Schomburgk's  headquarters 
for  some  time  and  he  has  especially  mentioned  the  abundance  of  deer 
in  that  vicinity. 

Unfortunately,  it  seems  necessary  that  the  name  savannarum  be 
superseded  by  spinosus  which  has  two  years'  prioritv. 

1879.  Gymnotis  vuiegmanni  Fitzinger,  Sitzungsber.  K.  Ak.  Wiss. 
Wien,  LXXVIII,  p.  344,  1879. 

A  renaming  of  Cervus  gymnotis  Wiegmann,  of  which,  therefore,  it  is 
an  absolute  synonym. 

1879.  Cervus  columhicus  Fitzinger,  Sitzungsber.  K.  Ak.  Wiss. 
Wien,  LXXIX,  p.  66,  1879. 

Based  on  a  skull  and  horns  described  and  figured  but  not  named  by 
Pucheran  (Arch,  du  Mus.,  VI,  p.  335,  pi.  23,  fig.  i,  1852).  These  were 
obtained  from  Bogota,  Colombia,  by  the  French  traveler  and  naturalist 
Roulin.      "Bogota"   is  of  course  a  generalized  locality  covering  the 

1  Dr.  F.  M.  Chapman,  who  has  lately  done  some  thorough  ornithological  work 
in  the  Bogota  region,  assures  me  that  at  present  the  skins  of  spotted  cats,  jaguars, 
pumas,  etc.,  and  certain  live  birds  and  mammals  offered  for  sale  in  Bogota  are  largely 
from  the  eastern  savanna  or  llano  region. 


I40    Field  Museum  of  Natural  History  —  Zoology,  Vol.  X. 

whole  Bogota  region  and,  as  in  the  case  of  C.  gcmdotii,  it  may  mean  that 
the  specimen  actually  had  its  source  in  the  savannas  east  of  Bogota 
near  the  Meta  River.  Pucheran's  figure,  however,  shows  a  pair  of 
horns  of  somewhat  unusual  character,  not  referable  with  certainty  to 
any  known  species.  The  disposition  of  the  name  columbicus,  therefore, 
awaits  competent  examination  of  the  tjrpe  in  the  Paris  Museum. 


Rhipidomys  fulviventer  elatturus  subsp.  nov. 

Type  from  Paramo  de  Tama,  head  of  Tachira  River,  Venezuela. 
Alt.  7,000  ft.  No.  1 8691  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History.  Adult 
male.  Collected  March  3,  1911,  by  W.  H.  Osgood  and  S.  G.  Jewett. 
Original  No.  4252. 

Characters. — X  small  Rhipidomys,  smaller  than  any  pre\4ously 
described  species  of  the  restricted  genus;  general  characters  and  colora- 
tion essentially  as  in  R.  fulviventer,  but  belly  paler,  tail  shorter,  hind 
foot  smaller,  and  audita!  bullae  smaller.  Upper  parts  practically 
uniform  ta^^^ly  ochraceous  evenly  and  finely  mixed  with  dusW;  a 
slight  ta^^Tiy  ochraceous  line;  ears  and  tail  sooty  brown;  under 
parts  creamy  white,  lightly  washed  on  the  middle  of  the  belly 
with  pale  tawny,  the  hairs,  except  those  of  the  chin,  with  dark  slaty 
bases. 

Measurements. — Type  and  adult  female  topotype,  respectively: 
Total  length  225,  225;  head  and  body  108,  108;  tail  117,  117;  hind  foot, 
with  claw  24,  23.  Skull  of  type:  Greatest  length  28.2;  basilar  length 
21.4;  zygomatic  breadth  15.6;  interorbital  constriction  4.3;  nasals  11.3X 
2.9;  interparietal  10.7x3.9;  palatine  foramina  5.7x2;  diastema  7.4; 
upper  toothrow  4.5. 

Remarks. — This  form  is  well  distinguished  from  fulviventer  but  in 
the  present  unre vised  condition  of  the  genus,  its  relationship  is  con- 
veniently indicated  by  the  trinomial.  Typical  examples  of  fulviventer 
have  not  been  available  for  use  in  the  present  connection  and  con- 
clusions have  been  based  upon  the  original  description  supplemented 
by  specimens  from  eastern  Peru  referred  to  fulviventer  by  Oldfield 
Thomas. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  rats  of  this  genus  are  more  restricted 
within  the  boundaries  of  continuously  forested  areas  than  those  less 
arboreal  in  habit.  Relatively  small  discontinuities  of  forest,  therefore, 
may  be  locally  more  effective  factors  of  isolation  than  temperature 
and  altitude. 


April,  1914.    Four  New  Mammals  from  Venezuela — Osgood.     141 

Proechimys  poliopus  sp.  nov. 

Type  from  San  Juan  de  Colon,  State  of  Tachira,  Venezuela.  Altitude 
2,500  ft.  No.  20525  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History.  Subadult. 
Collected  Nov.  15,  1913,  by  M.  P.  Anderson.     Orig.  No.  160. 

Characters. — A  relatively  small  species  with  grayish  throat,  fore- 
arms, and  fore  and  hind  feet.  Size  about  as  in  P.  urichi  and  P.  ochra- 
ceus;  smaller  than  P.  mincce  and  P.  guaircB;  spines  rather  weak,  about 
as  in  P.  urichi. 

Color. — Upper  parts  dull  tawny  liberally  mixed  with  black  on  the 
head  and  back,  the  sides  being  paler;  under  parts  chiefly  white,  the 
middle  throat  and  an  irregular  line  on  each  side  of  the  belly  drab  gray 
only  slightly  paler  than  the  basal  color  of  the  hairs  of  the  sides;  front  of 
forearms  and  forefeet  darker  drab  gray  approaching  broccoli  brown; 
hind  feet  grayish  drab  with  a  slight  touch  of  whitish  on  the  inner  sides; 
tail  very  lightly  haired,  blackish  above,  yellowish  white  below. 

Skull. — Similar  to  that  of  P.  ochraceus  but  audital  bullae  decidedly 
smaller,  almost  as  small  as  in  P.  urichi;  palatine  foramina  rather  short 
and  broad  leading  posteriorly  into  shallow  channels  on  each  side  of  the 
palate;  zygomata  somewhat  heavier  than  in  P.  urichi  and  nasals  shorter; 
supraorbital  ridges  relatively  weak;  parieto-interparietal  suture  prac- 
tically obliterated  before  full  maturity;  parietals  without  ridges;  teeth 
about  as  in  P.  ochraceus,  slightly  larger  than  in  P.  urichi. 

Measurements. — Type:  Total  length  363;  head  and  body  223;  tail 
140;  hind  foot  46.  Skull  of  type  (last  molar  in  place,  but  not  quite 
high  enough  to  be  functional):  Greatest  length  48.9;  basilar  length 
34.4;  zygomatic  breadth  24.7;  interorbital  breadth  11. i;  nasals  16. 6x 
5.1;  diastema  10;  postpalatal  length  18.3;  palatine  foramina  4.2x3; 
upper  toothrow  8.7. 

Remarks. — The  gray  forelimbs  and  feet  distinguish  this  species  from 
all  of  its  congeners  to  which  it  is  similar  in  other  respects.  From  P. 
canicolUs,  which  also  has  gray  limbs,  it  is  distinguished  by  its  smaller 
size,  its  much  darker  and  more  uniform  color  (that  of  the  head  un- 
differentiated from  that  of  the  body),  and  its  cranial  characters.  P. 
mincce  sometimes  has  grayish  forelimbs,  but  it  is  a  larger  species  with 
wholly  white  under  parts.  Actual  comparison  has  been  made  with 
topotypical  material  representing  P.  urichi,  P.  ochraceus,  P.  mincce, 
and  P.  canicolUs.  P.  guairce  is  doubtless  related  also,  but  its  larger  size 
and  white  feet  distinguish  it. 


